By Christian Hartmann | EVRY, France EVRY, France French Prime Minister Manuel Valls declared on Monday that he would seek the Socialist Party's nomination for next year's presidential election and said he was quitting the government to focus on campaigning.Although opinion polls bill Valls as the favourite for the Socialists' ticket, they also forecast that neither he nor any other left-wing candidate will win the election, rather that conservative candidate Francois Fillon will beat far-right National Front leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off. "We're told the left does not stand a chance, but nothing's set in stone," Valls said to applause from supporters in his fiefdom of Evry, the gritty southern suburb of Paris where he was mayor for over a decade. [L5N1E00L9]"I want us to lead the left to victory!" the 54-year-old said, urging his much-divided camp to unite. #United States#Middle East#markets#United Kingdom#Entertainment#Election#article

By Noah Barkin | BERLIN BERLIN In 2007, on his first visit to Berlin as French prime minister, Francois Fillon gave Angela Merkel an antique edition of "Radioactivity", a work by one of her heroes, fellow physicist Marie Curie.The book, now prominently displayed in the Chancellery in Berlin, is a symbol of Franco-German friendship and a reminder that Fillon, favourite to win the French presidency after his resounding victory in the first round of the Republican primary on Sunday, is a known quantity in Berlin.Particularly on the issue of economic reform, where Fillon is proposing a shock-and-awe approach involving deep cuts to public spending, he is viewed by Merkel's government as an ally.But on other issues, from Russia and Turkey to migration and Europe, Fillon could prove a far more difficult partner for Merkel, who announced on Sunday, as Fillon was surging to victory, that she would seek a fourth term as German chancellor.Germany and France have been the driving forces of European integration for over half a century. And it is likely to fall to Berlin and Paris to try to lead the EU out of an existential crisis triggered by Britain's decision to leave the bloc.For months, people in Merkel's entourage have been whispering that Alain Juppe, another former prime minister who came in a distant second to Fillon on Sunday, represented the best hope for achieving that.Like Merkel, Juppe is staunchly pro-European. He is a voice of moderation on issues of immigration and national identity #United States#Russia#Europe#Turkey#Election#Ukraine

By Andreas Rinke and Madeline Chambers | BERLIN BERLIN Angela Merkel told top members of her party on Sunday that she wants to run for a fourth term as German chancellor in next year's election, senior party sources told Reuters, after months of speculation about one of the world's most powerful women.Despite a voter backlash over her open-door migrant policy, the conservative is seen as a stabilising force in Europe amid uncertainty caused by Britain's vote to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as the next U.S. president #India#Business#Europe#markets#United Kingdom#Election#Berlin

By Steve Holland | NEW YORK NEW YORK U.S. President-elect Donald Trump planned a Saturday meeting with Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee and fierce Trump critic, and may discuss whether he should be a candidate for secretary of state, a source familiar with the meeting said on Thursday.Trump already has a lengthy list of potential candidates for the post of top U.S. diplomat, including former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, former U.S #Barack Obama#Argentina#United Kingdom#President#Entertainment#Election#university

PARIS French far-right party leader Marine Le Pen said on Wednesday that her election as president next year would form a trio of world leaders with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin that "would be good for world peace."Inaugurating her campaign headquarters for France's 2017 election, just less than two km (one mile) away from the Elysee presidential palace, Le Pen said the premises were "a stopover on the way to (her) final destination down the road."Anti-Europe and anti-immigration, the 48-year-old Le Pen was the only French political leader who backed Trump in the U.S #Syria#Russia#Europe#United Kingdom#Election#lifestyle

By Valerie Volcovici and Alister Doyle | WASHINGTON/MARRAKESH, Morocco WASHINGTON/MARRAKESH, Morocco Donald Trump is seeking quick ways of withdrawing from a global agreement to limit climate change, a source on his transition team said, defying widening international backing for the plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.Since the U.S. President-elect was chosen, governments ranging from China to small island states have reaffirmed support for the 2015 Paris Agreement at 200-nation climate talks running until Nov. 18 in Marrakesh, Morocco.Trump, who has called global warming a hoax and has promised to quit the Paris Agreement, was considering ways to bypass a theoretical four-year procedure for leaving the accord, according to the source, who works on Trump's transition team for international energy and climate policy."It was reckless for the Paris agreement to enter into force before the election" on Tuesday, the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity #United States#science#Paris#markets#Election#lifestyle

By Valerie Volcovici and Alister Doyle | WASHINGTON/MARRAKESH, Morocco WASHINGTON/MARRAKESH, Morocco Donald Trump is seeking quick ways of withdrawing from a global agreement to limit climate change, a source on his transition team said, defying widening international backing for the plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions.Since the U.S. President-elect was chosen, governments ranging from China to small island states have reaffirmed support for the 2015 Paris Agreement at 200-nation climate talks running until Nov #United States#France#Middle East#Paris#United Kingdom#Election